'No legal basis, completely unacceptable': India rejects 'so-called' Pakistan-China boundary joint commission | India News - Hindustan Times

**India Rejects Pakistan‑China “Boundary Joint Commission” Over Legal and Territorial Concerns**

New Delhi has publicly dismissed a recently announced Pakistan‑China “boundary joint commission” that seeks to settle disputed sections of the Pakistan‑China border in the Karakoram region. Indian officials described the panel as “so‑called” and said it has “no legal basis,” arguing that the commission’s mandate infringes on India’s sovereign claims over territories it administers in Ladakh and the broader Kashmir region. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs released a statement on Friday urging Islamabad to abandon what it termed “theatrics” and to withdraw any forces it believes are occupying Indian land, reiterating that the border in question is already delineated by the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that separates India and China.

The joint commission, convened by Beijing and Islamabad, was intended to address the “undefined” border stretches near the Shaksgam Valley, an area China ceded to Pakistan in the 1963 Sino‑Pakistani agreement but which India continues to claim as part of its sovereign territory. New Delhi’s rejection follows a series of diplomatic exchanges in which India has repeatedly warned Pakistan against any attempts to alter the status quo in the region, especially in the aftermath of heightened tensions along the LAC after the 2020 Galwan Valley clash. Analysts note that India’s firm stance also serves to counter Beijing’s growing influence in South Asia and to reaffirm its own strategic partnership with the United States and other Western allies.

The episode underscores the complex triangulation of interests among the three nations. While Pakistan and China view the commission as a means to formalise their mutual border and solidify economic projects such as the China‑Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), India perceives it as an attempt to legitise Pakistan’s claims and to encircle Indian territory. The Indian government has called for any future discussions on border demarcation to be conducted through established bilateral mechanisms and in accordance with internationally recognised legal frameworks. As of now, no further diplomatic engagement on the commission has been scheduled, leaving the dispute unresolved and the regional security calculus unchanged.

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